Teacher quits job to work three months a year decorating Christmas trees
A mum-of-two quit her job as a teacher to pursue her passion for decorating Christmas trees full-time, charging an average of $1,000 (£800) to transform each tree into a winter wonderland. Amanda Ware, 44, of Bentonville, Arkansas, makes all of her yearly earnings in the last three months of the year. She doesn't mind being extremely busy in the holiday season, as spends her time doing what she loves and that’s transforming Christmas trees.
The mother of two quit her work as a teacher five years ago and now decorates at least 100 Christmas trees before December 25. “The magic truly begins whenever people put their Christmas décor up. I am in the business of making people merry,” said Amanda in an interview with Newsweek.
With her 'unorthodox idea' that any colour can be a Christmas colour, the enterprising mum detailed how you can decorate your Christmas tree like a pro this year. Amanda and her team begin decorating trees and homes seasonally, as soon as October arrives. However, November is always their busiest month. She explained that depending on the size of the tree, and typically spends two to five hours transforming it.
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Amanda explained that people often forget to fluff their trees, resulting in a barren appearance and a cheaper-looking tree. “Forgetting to fluff the tree and leaving holes is a common mistake but it's an easy fix,” she said. In a viral TikTok, that has amassed over 90,000 views, Amanda shared tips and tricks on how you can make your tree “look high-end.”
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She explained that you should decorate your Christmas tree with greenery such as “snow-kissed, cedar, or pine” branches. The professional tree decorator said that it would give it a more “high-end look” and that incorporating additional branches is a “trick of the trade.”
Amanda recommends filling any gaps and adding dimension with sprigs from outdoor plants and flowers. To make your Christmas tree stand out, the former teacher suggests putting, “at least 100 lights per foot of the tree, if there aren't enough lights then it doesn't look good.” She said.
“Lights give off a glow and make any evening more romantic. They also enhance all of the decorations, sometimes you can't see the decorations because of the lack of lights,” she explained specifying a preference for warm lights. Amanda says the size of the tree and the amount of decorations she uses all factor into how much she charges.
“The service fee to have a tree decorated could be anywhere between $300 to $1500 (£240 - £1,200) per tree depending on the size and who is decorating it. If you hire me, you are going to pay a premium. I have previously decorated a tree that had $10,000 (£8000) worth of decorations on it, and the tree only cost $200 (£160).
“We specialize in over-the-top more is more so we like extra. This is a general estimate yet for a 9ft tree decorated all the way around we like to use 3-5 rolls of ribbon, 40-60 sprigs, florals, and 30 to 50 ornaments.” The professional Christmas tree decorator's favorite decoration is ribbon and said it's one of the reasons she “got into the business” of holiday decorating as a career.
Amanda explained that she cuts the ribbon 'into strips' and ensures she 'never' wraps it around the tree 'horizontally' because it makes it look “cheap". "I usually put the ribbon vertically around the tree and make bows with it," she added.
“To get started I encourage everyone to start with their favorite pattern and velvet material,” she said. In one TikTok video, she decorated a tree using mostly ribbon. She began by tying different coloured pieces of ribbon into a bow and then placed the various bows sporadically around the tree before adding big ivory-colorued ornaments.
Another one of Amanda's favorite tips is to add lots of ornaments to the tree and place them in a very strategic way. “Most people put their favorite baubles and ornaments within eyesight—but if you are adding balls, I suggest buying them in a pack of three or five. Then place them on the tree in triangles, one in front of you, one to the lower right, and the other lower left. Or you could create a diamond shape using four.”
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